Thanks to My Favorite Kidnapper, and ending that book with the aww’s and swoons commonly uttered after a Hallmark Channel film, I think I’m hooked on this Melanie Moreland series. There is no doubt about it. The first installment of this standalone story series was way too cute and cozy, I actually have already followed through on my prediction of rereading it for fun on a plane last weekend. So naturally I had to immediately purchase and read the second in the series, My Favorite Boss, which follows the same premise of a grumpy, stick-in-the-mud male lead mutually falling in love with a quirky, ray-of-sunshine female. And to think I’ll probably have to wait until September of this year to read the next one!
My Favorite Boss By Melanie Moreland
“My Favorite Boss, like I mentioned, takes the same tropes and character dynamics of the first installment and just puts it in a different context:
Aptly named since he’s the bane of my existence.
Please isn’t in his vocabulary.
He grunts, growls, and demands.
If only he didn’t look so sexy when doing so.
If only his mouth weren’t so addictive when kissing mine.
He’s quickly becoming my favorite boss.
Which is wrong.My new assistant is an unwelcomed distraction.
Snarky, witty, always smiling.
Constantly putting me in my place.
Making me second-guess my decisions.
I dislike it. Intensely.
Unless I’m kissing her.
Then Magnolia Myers becomes my favorite person.
Which I hate.
Two people working together, disliking each other.
Until they don’t.Then the fun begins.”
My Favorite Boss. Melanie Moreland. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216470283-my-favorite-boss.
In this one, Alexander Bane — a successful architect — has just had yet another assistant quit and is reluctantly challenged by HR to find another one that will stay longer than just a few weeks. He literally runs into — awkward meet-cute-style — our leading lady, Magnolia Myers, who applies for the job and he gives her a shot. I hesitate to call the book a straight enemies-to-lovers story, but it still has the hallmarks of that trope: bickering, sassy retorts and remarks to each other, denying they have feelings for each other before giving in. It is, however, more enemies-to-lovers than My Favorite Kidnapper.
The main thing that stands out to me about this sequel is how it feels more grounded in reality. The setup and romance feels like a situation that could actually happen, which is a strong contrast to the first book in the series that plays more into women’s fiction fantasies. Not a knock against the story, just an observation from me as a reader; the characters’ actions and writing in the first five chapters is far less comedically unhinged and far more “real life.”
My Favorite Boss definitely had the same vibes as My Favorite Kidnapper, but I think it does more justice to the overall concept. What I noticed right away after reading just a few chapters is how the Bane-Myers coupling follows the “grumpy guy meets ray of sunshine” way better than the Dante-Briana coupling in the prior book. Dante’s initial grumpiness and standoffishness is only told through second-hand accounts; we don’t really see that upfront and are only told by other characters how out-of-character he is behaving once he meets Briana. Bane, however, genuinely has a hard exterior at the start of the story and that is clearly illustrated to the reader; this makes the overall trope more accurate to me. Both leading ladies are very similar with their quick wits and sass, making them both great pairings for their respective love interests; Myers in particular is a little accident prone but has a really good sense of humor that Bane just falls in love with.
Watching this realistic love story was, again, very cute. Myers is so charming in just being herself that Bane doesn’t want to admit to himself that he likes her, and she just keeps getting under his skin. It’s adorable to see his nickname for her change throughout the book as they get closer with each other, going from “Myers” in the first few chapters, to “Magnolia” and eventually “Maggie, darling.” Within the story there isn’t a rule against dating in the office, which I think is a good choice by Moreland; I think it makes it all more emotional and really about the development of the characters.
Bane’s character growth is so fun to watch and it’s adorable seeing this man realize that he loves Myers and would do anything for her. The pet names, the not being able to sleep without each other, Bane wanting her to move in but not knowing how to ask — I can’t get enough of it all. The one annoying thing that isn’t really “annoying” in a basic sense but “annoying” by rom-com standards, is how Bane is convinced he isn’t capable of real love or keeping up a relationship. But he 100% is and can, he just doesn’t recognize what he feels as love, which in itself is cute; Bane is clueless, but really is trying.
As far as which of these Moreland books I’d recommend reading, I think it all depends on what tropes you’re into and what type of story you’re looking for. Kidnapper is more absurdist and leans more heavily into rom-com fantasy but Boss is more grounded in reality and is closer to something that would happen in real life. Both are great for a fun little romp and I will have to keep an eye out for (hopefully!) the third book in September.
My Hot Takes (Spoiler Warning)
- The catty group of office ladies is kind of juvenile and I’m not into it. To me, it makes that part of the story lean more toward YA than adult and I assume this is supposed to be an adult romance.
- There’s one scene in this book that literally nearly had me rolling on the floor laughing. It’s after Bane and Myers decide to start seeing each other, but they agree to keep it professional in the office. Bane starts leaning more on the romantic/sexual side and Myers reminds him “We agreed to keep it professional,” to which he says “That was before you wore pants.” I am dead, that is hilarious.
- I count three times Bane’s dick gets injured in this book and like four or five times that HR has caught them in a compromising position.
- If Moreland writes “he captured/covered her X with his Y” one more time, I’m going to lose it. Same for commenting on how hard Bane is/feels when Myers hugs him.
- Universe Cat Distribution System for the win!
- I totally called it that Bane was the one to send her flowers. I have no idea if that works with the book’s established continuity (I’ll have to look for that during my reread).
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
0 Comments